Illuminating the Path: Generative AI’s Ascendancy in India

Praveen Sridhar, the Head of Partner Business at AWS India and South Asia, in an exclusive tête-à-tête with Prabhu Ram, Head- Industry Intelligence Group at Cyber Media Research conducted on the fringes of the AWS Summit 2024 in Bengaluru, Praveen elucidates AWS’s pivotal role in nurturing GenAI adoption, its profound ramifications for businesses, and the transformative journey that lies ahead.

Amazon Web Services (AWS) announced the general availability of Amazon Bedrock, in the Asia-Pacific region (specifically Mumbai).

Over the past year, Generative AI (GenAI) has captured the imagination of businesses, moving from pilot experimentation to large-scale impact. There has been tremendous growth in enterprise GenAI adoption, experimentation, and large-scale pilots. This surge has fuelled a growing belief that GenAI can significantly augment, or even replace, human efforts in complex and unstructured areas of value creation. Praveen Sridhar, Head of Partner Business, AWS India and South Asia spoke with Prabhu Ram on the sidelines of the AWS Summit 2024 in Bengaluru. Excerpts from the interview:

Paving the Way for Generative AI Adoption

Leveraging its expertise in cloud computing, AWS empowers businesses of all sizes to harness the potential of generative AI. The company recognizes the importance of a comprehensive stack, offering a complete set of tools to facilitate success.

•            Infrastructure: Efficiently running Generative AI models requires significant computing power. AWS’s custom-designed chips, Trainium and Inferentia, further optimize performance for generative AI workloads. Additionally, tools like SageMaker provide a comprehensive platform for training, building, and deploying GenAI models.

•            Model Marketplace: AWS offers pre-trained large language models (LLMs) through a service called Bedrock. Amazon Web Services (AWS) announced the general availability of Amazon Bedrock, in the Asia-Pacific region (specifically Mumbai). Launched in 2023, Bedrock offers a diverse selection of foundation models from leading companies like Anthropic, Meta, Cohere, and AWS itself. This empowers customers to build secure applications leveraging these models, ultimately enhancing user experiences, boosting productivity, and streamlining operations.Bedrock also provides customization features like Guardrails and Knowledge Bases, enabling users to tailor the models for specific applications.

•            Applications: At the top layer, AWS goes beyond just the infrastructure and tools. They integrate GenAI capabilities into various AWS services, making it easier for users to leverage this technology. For instance, Amazon QuickSight provides user-friendly interfaces for data visualization tasks powered by Generative AI. Additionally, AWS is exploring consumer products like Rufus that could potentially utilize Generative AI functionalities.

Partner Ecosystem: A Force Multiplier

Partners play a critical role in accelerating Generative AI adoption. AWS fosters a comprehensive partner ecosystem with different competency levels, including a specific Generative AI competency. This ensures partners have the expertise to build and deliver effective Generative AI solutions. Additionally, AWS supports partners through training programs and marketplaces. These programs equip partners with the skills they need, while the marketplaces allow them to showcase their Generative AI solutions and reach a wider audience.

Generative AI in Action: Real-World Examples

The impact of Generative AI is already being felt across India. Companies of all sizes are leveraging AWS to create innovative solutions.

Shellkode, for example, uses Generative AI to automate tasks and streamline invoice processing. HCL Technologies employs it to enhance developer productivity. Even the sports industry is getting a makeover with Tech Mahindra’s use of Generative AI to create immersive fan experiences.

AWS Marketplace allows Indian Independent Software Vendors (ISVs) to list their Generative AI solutions, giving them the opportunity to reach a global audience.

Mindtickle, a data dumping platform, empowers sales organizations with Generative AI tools, while Freshworks, an Indian software company, utilizes Generative AI to improve customer journeys.

Empowering Small and Medium Businesses

AWS is particularly committed to making Generative AI accessible to small and medium businesses (SMBs) in India. They offer specific programs like AWS Activate, which provides resources and support for experimentation and adoption. Additionally, the AWS Marketplace allows Indian Independent Software Vendors (ISVs) to list their Generative AI solutions, giving them the opportunity to reach a global audience.

The future of Generative AI in India looks bright. AWS is actively contributing to this growth by providing the infrastructure, tools, and support needed for established players and emerging SMBs alike. This collaborative effort has the potential to unlock a new wave of innovation and productivity across various sectors in India. 

Praveen Sridhar

Head of Partner Business, AWS India and South Asia

By Prabhu Ram

maildqindia@cybermedia.co.in